I have been driving my parents' 2012 Ford Fusion on and off for the past 2 years. They want to sell it to me for $8,000. This is a really great price and it seems really fair that I should have to buy it instead of driving it for free. However, I don't like the idea of owning a car. Can someone help me decide what the best way to think about this is? Should I encourage my parents to sell the car to someone else and buy my own car if I decide I need one?
Facts:
2012 Ford Fusion SE with 20,000 miles KBB.com private party value $13,100.
Costs if I buy the car: maintenance (200$/year guess?), parking (85$/month), insurance (60$/month), registration? (Am I missing any costs?)
Where I drive: I visit my parents 1 hour away twice a month. I also use the car for shopping trips and anywhere my boyfriend and I go that's out of town. We were considering using this car for our next few vacations to drive to national parks. This would save a lot of money on car rentals and flights.
My boyfriend lives with me and has his own 2003 Toyota Camry with 160,000 miles. His car is starting to get rusty, but he doesn't want to get rid of it and share the Fusion.
Boyfriend takes bus to work. I walk to work.
We have no debt and enough cash to buy the car easily.
I hate driving in winter (snow), so pretty much don't drive at all from Dec - March. When it's snowy I only visit my parents for holidays.
I live in a condo downtown, and it seems insane that we are paying 170$ a month to park 2 cars here that we hardly ever use. Not to mention all the insurance / maintenance costs. However, it is nice to have a reliable car that we can both use that will last 10+ more years.
Do I need a facepunch? Please don't tell me to buy the car from my parents and then resell it myself. That would be a dick move. heh.